


Con Amor Bakery

by orphan_account



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Angst, Falling In Love, Fluff, Homophobia, Josh Also Steals Food Sometimes, Josh Has a Sweet Tooth, M/M, This Fic is as Fluffy as Tyler's Biscuits, Ty Tries Wooing Josh with his Baking Skills, Tyler Works at a Bakery, Tyler has Family Issues, high school setting, it works, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-19 01:41:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10629531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Tyler Joseph learns just how true this is when he meets Josh Dun, a super cute guy who loves to eat pastries.





	1. Pretty Charred Panettone

It was funny, sometimes, how life decided it wanted Tyler to end up in ridiculous situations.

 

Such as the time when he was on his way to his first basketball practice, already a few minutes late, and entered the gym, only to find out that he'd gone into the girl’s locker room.

 

Or, when he fell asleep on the school bus and his friends thought it would be a good idea to draw a (very disturbingly detailed) penis on his arm. In black sharpie. And colored in.

 

How about the instance in which Tyler burned the panettone he was supposed to bake for his family on Christmas, and ended up having to serve a store bought bread instead.

 

Perhaps an even better example would be when he was presenting his project to his biology class, and accidentally said “orgasm” instead of “organism.” Even Mr. Roberson couldn't contain his laughter.

 

Yes, it was pretty funny, sometimes.

 

This was not one of those times.

 

This was _definitely_ not one of those times.

 

Because, right now, he's looking at the most beautiful face he has ever crossed paths with. He's looking at the most angelic, handsome, illegally adorable human being to ever bless the face of the earth.

 

And he literally just fell into a pile of shit because of this angel.

 

Just his luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing a fic, hope you like it. I'll post the next chapter shortly, since this introduction is very small.
> 
> Also, because I'm no baking expert, I've done an extensive (5 minute) Google search on different types of cakes and cookies for this story, so feel free to point out any discrepancies.


	2. A Bag of Butter Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Tyler could get a good look at the guy, he saw him grab the bag of butter cookies and frantically hurl it at his face.

It’s a warm April morning when Tyler encounters this gorgeous being.

 

 

 

He remembers a lot of his early days consisted of making chocolate chip cookies and buttercream cupcakes with his mother in the kitchen. He also remembers the numerous amount of times he'd burned bits of his hair off while his mother wasn't home, but Tyler doesn't really enjoy recalling those moments. The permanent scar on the left side of his head is enough of a reminder. Either way, his love for baking blossomed years later, and he really wanted to practice making pastries.

 

His childhood friend, Mark, had mentioned a few months ago that the bakery next to the high school was looking for employees, and Tyler had all but jumped at the opportunity to work there. And so, this store, named Con Amor Bakery, is where everything began.

 

The refreshing scent of homemade bread and sugary treats filled his body with delight as he opened up the small bakery. Once Tyler had finished the first batch of shortbread, he turned over the “CLOSED” sign by the window, sat behind the counter, and waited for a few uneventful hours to pass by.

 

Tyler wasn't a fan of sitting at the counter when he first worked at the bakery.

 

He almost wanted to quit because of that aspect of the job, actually.

 

Talking to strangers sometimes fueled his anxiety, and it didn't help that, on occasions, the customers were freaking ridiculous. Most of the time, it was endurable, like the few times a customer believed he was some master chef that could bake a masterpiece in 5 minutes, which was outright stupid.

 

What would really press Tyler's buttons were the nosey ones, the customers that pretended to come in to purchase bread, but would always end up telling him their ‘enticing’ tales and essentially waste his time. Honestly, Tyler’s 17, he'd rather not hear about the elderly couple that won Bingo that week.

 

Sometimes, the high schoolers would enter the store to just look at the food. Just to look at it. Because apparently, according to his classmates, the bakery’s prices were so high, even the stoners at school couldn't get that high. Which was a pretty big standard, Tyler soon learned after the sixth time they came in to ask for weed brownies.

  

So, if you haven't noticed before, Tyler's hometown is weird. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

 

As instructed by his boss, he was supposed to manage the bakery until 10:00 a.m., and from then on, allow his friend, Jenna, to manage the counter while he stayed in the kitchen. So, it was a bit of a surprise when the person who walked through the door at 10:00 a.m. was not Jenna.

 

In fact, he was so focused on helping a customer grab a handful of pretzels from the back of the room, that he didn't even notice the seemingly normal civilian enter the bakery until he saw the figure bend over the counter to snatch a huge bag of freshly baked butter cookies from the shelves.

 

That was when he realized they were stealing.

 

It was common to see news reports about theft and robbery in town, but nobody ever heard about someone stealing cookies of all things.

 

“Hey!” was the first thing that came to mind in order to get the guy out of the store, and it seemed to work. Except, Tyler remembered that the cookies were supposed to be for a nearby wedding reception, and the couple was paying the bakery a very good amount.

 

So, when the robber sprinted out the door, cookies in hand, he had no choice but to chase after the guy.

 

And the dude was not exactly the fastest runner in the world, considering Tyler's the captain of the basketball team and runs an extra mile every day, but it's a Saturday morning, and he was not really in the mood to run. After crossing two streets south of the bakery, he noticed the guy turn in an alleyway behind a nearby building. One that, to his knowledge, was a dead end.

 

He turned the corner and found the guy 15 feet away, trying, in a futile attempt, to climb onto the brick wall to get to the other side. It was almost amusing to watch, especially after he took a good look at him.

 

His shirt had the sides almost completely ripped off, exposing the little belly that was unnoticeable under his clothing. ‘Maybe he's hit a few bakeries in the past before’, Tyler thought. His black jeans hung low onto his waist, his hair’s a funny shade of yellow, and it together gave Tyler the impression that this guy was a trouble-maker. The colorful tattoos that littered his arm didn't really help.

 

It then occurred to him that he should probably make an attempt to get the cookies, if he ever wanted to receive his paycheck. Or, his job back.

 

“Excuse me?” he yelled out hesitantly. “Can you uh... give those back? You didn't pay for them….” The guy continued to ignore him in favor of escaping, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. Maybe if he said it louder, or more threatening, the guy would pay attention.

 

“Um... please?” Geez, way to sound threatening, Tyler.

 

But surprisingly, it worked. Just not in the way he would have wished. Before Tyler could get a good look at the guy, he saw him grab the bag of butter cookies and frantically hurl it at his face.

 

And man, did that freaking _hurt_. It was almost as if he was thrown a baseball filled with rocks. And that baseball was shot out of a cannon. So, of course, Tyler let out a high-pitched scream at the pain.

 

“Ow! Shit! What the heck?!”

 

And, because, as was mentioned before, life wanted to put Tyler into the most ridiculous of situations, he began falling backwards until he hit a tall, gray trash can. And he then proceeded to fall into it. Into the trash can. Onto what was most likely a pile of terribly dirty diapers from Mrs. Sharol’s sick baby.

 

And it was _not_ funny.

 

His embarrassingly girlish screaming continued for a few seconds before he made an attempt to push himself out of the trash can, only to fall back in. He tried to sit up a bit (or as much as one can sit while laying inside a trash can) and gave a frown to the guy who just threw a bag of butter cookies at him.

 

Which brings us back to the present. Tyler takes a long, good look at the robber and-

 

Oh.

 

_Oh_.

 

He _melts_. He melts into a puddle of goo because this guy that just threw a bag of hard butter cookies at him and stole from his bakery is probably the most beautiful guy he's ever seen. He melts because of the wonderful hazel eyes staring at him, because of the guy's perfectly sculpted face, because of his muscular arms swinging back and forth, because of the nice pair of legs walking his way and-

 

Wait...

 

“I am so so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard, I wasn't thinking, you must really hate me, oh my God, I'm so sorry-”

 

Tyler zones out the rambling of this newfound angel and begins to process exactly what just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be told through Josh's point of view, and the story will continue switching between the two.
> 
> Hopefully I'll be able to upload weekly, and thanks for reading!


	3. Eleven Pecan Pies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was hesitant to walk in at first, knowing that the brunette kid could be standing by the counter, ready to yell at him and ferociously destroy the little self esteem he had. But, Debby was patiently holding the door open, and he felt guilty about making her stand there for so long.
> 
> And so, here he is, staring at the one person that he's been trying desperately to ignore since last week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Josh's perspective this time

Alright, so Joshua William Dun may or may not have an addiction to sugary treats.

 

He may or may not have found it appalling when he was seven to learn that it was customary for children to leave cookies for Santa Claus (he, of course, stayed up at night to eat those cookies before the jolly man could get to them). He also may or may not have began a habit of wasting his money on candies, cookies, cakes; basically, anything sweet and unhealthy he could get his hands on.

 

Yes, he has a sweet tooth. What of it? It's not a big deal.

 

At least, that's what he had repeatedly told himself before that fateful day on March 3.

 

Because on March 3, Josh began to steal.

 

He was only 14, back then. The liquor store across his street sold some of the best mini pecan pies, made by the very kind old lady who owned the store, and Josh had so desperately wanted some for weeks. Unfortunately, his parents had decided to stop giving him an allowance.

 

Mainly, because they felt their money was being wasted.

 

It made it even worse that the store was also in the direction of his middle school, meaning he had to pass by it twice a day. After what felt like years (Are you kidding, Josh, it was literally only two weeks!), he begrudgingly walked to the store and stared longingly at the sweet delicacies through the glass. When he stood up, he noticed that the clerk was nowhere to be seen, and that…

 

_That_ was when the sinister idea sunk into his head.

 

So, no, after March 3, Josh knew he had a problem. Because stealing eleven mini pecan pies from the liquor store was definitely not normal.

 

And if anyone were to ever say “Josh Dun has been stealing from bakeries,” that person would immediately get slapped in the face and be told to sit in the corner to rethink their life.

 

Josh Dun is not one to be known for stealing. Actually, he's not even one to be known for doing anything remotely wrong. He's know as the cool guy, the dude all the students at his high school fall for, the kid that all teachers speak highly about, the boy that volunteers everyday at his church.

 

He is known as “Josh Dun, the nicest guy you'll ever meet.”

 

Seriously, that's what everybody introduces him as.

 

If people had slogans, that one would be Josh's. Despite his choice in appearance (‘It's just a faze,’ his parents had commented once), Josh is famously kind.

 

So, nobody in his family questioned the abnormal amount of pecan pies in the fridge, or his noticeable weight gain the past few years. Because they would never expect him to to such a thing. And they certainly haven't caught him in the act. Yet.

 

Josh was _almost_ caught multiple times. Once, a child had seen him at that same liquor store taking a box of sugar cookies without paying, and turned to her mother to ask if they were free. He was used to being a role model for others, and remembering this incident always created inner turmoil in his head.

 

Because Josh has a problem. A problem he's not yet ready to face.

 

Which brings us back to the present, in which he's certainly facing that problem in the form of a brown-haired kid who chased him into a corner and ended up inside a trash can.

 

And now he really regrets craving the butter cookies. 

 

 

 

“Hey, hey, are you alright? Can you even hear me?”

 

Josh’s voice comes out a bit more desperate than he would have liked, but he really can't help it. He's afraid he gave the brunette from the bakery some sort of head injury, because all the kid is doing right now is looking straight at him, and he isn't answering any of his questions.

 

“Dude, I'm so sorry, here, let me help you..,” he grabs on side of the trash can and wraps one arm around the guy's torso, and he swears the poor kid _flinches_ when he does that. He probably believes Josh is some sort of thug, or criminal. Once he safely puts the kid on the ground, Josh begins to worry again.

 

He was sent by his mother to buy groceries, and decided to take the short way. On his walk there, he'd been pleasantly surprised to run into a cute little bakery and was allured by the fragrance of sweet bread. Now, he finds himself thinking ‘stupid, stupid, stupid’ and questioning just what kind of person would attack someone with a bag of cookies.

 

“Are you okay? You fell really bad there…”

 

“Yeah, no I… I mean, this is super embarrassing, but I'm fine,” the boy almost whispers. Josh throws him a worried look. After stealing from his bakery, he'd really expected the kid to yell at him a lot more. He’s about to start apologizing _again_ before the brown haired boy whips his head up and stops him.

 

“R-relax. You don't need to say sorry anymore, I forgive you.” He looks up to Josh with the most sincere smile he's ever seen, and starts laughing. “For someone who dresses like he joined ten gangs, you're really nice.”

 

Wow. _He's_ the nice one? This kid must be a saint, or an angel, because Josh is pretty sure if he were in his situation, he'd punch the hell out of himself.

 

Remembering why this whole ordeal happened in the first place, he picks up the bag of cookies (it's more like a bag of crumbs now) and hands it to the brown-haired boy. The kid is wearing a black hoodie and some pretty tight skinny jeans – not that Josh notices – but he doesn't look like anyone in his grade, which is a good thing.

 

“Sorry, again.” Before the kid gets to say anything else, Josh jogs out of the alleyway, yelling out yet another apology before disappearing into the distance. It'd be better if they don't ever meet again, he reasons to himself.

 

 

 

They meet again.

 

Truthfully, it was never really supposed to happen. Josh planned on never stepping foot on the street of that bakery for the rest of his life.

 

It was just a coincidence that his best friend, Debby, craved chocolate cake that next Saturday and, wouldn't you know it, she decided to drag him along as well.

 

Basically, it was all Debby's fault.

 

He was hesitant to walk in at first, knowing that the brunette kid could be standing by the counter, ready to yell at him and ferociously destroy the little self esteem he had. But, Debby was patiently holding the door open, and he felt guilty about making her stand there for so long.

 

And so, here he is, staring at the one person that he's been trying desperately to ignore since last week. He can feel his heart beating profoundly out of his chest, so loud its movement could be heard from miles away. He carefully hides his face behind Debby, successfully blocking his view of the brunette’s facial expression when Josh enters the bakery. He assumes he's acting ridiculous (he's right), but he thinks he's gone unnoticed until he hears: “Hey, you're back!”

 

Oh.

 

_Shit_.

 

Now, Josh doesn't usually curse, but when he does, he says it in the confinement of his mind so that he doesn't bother anyone. That's just a kind of person he is. He's also the kind of person to blow small issues way out of proportion.

 

He's about to make a run for it and hope that Debby forgives him, but he does a double take when he catches her respond, “Yo, Tyler! You remember me?”

 

What.

 

“Of course I remember you, you're Gabe's girlfriend! You came in a few weeks ago and bought like, five red velvet cupcakes. Debby, right?”

 

Huh?

 

“Yeah I – I did. Wow, you even remember my name! Dude, it's good to see you again!”

 

Everything is going so fast, Josh can't help but stand there like an idiot while the bakery kid – Tyler, apparently – walks over to his friend and hugs her wholeheartedly.

 

“So who's this?” Tyler says, pulling away from Debby.

 

She steps back to introduce him. “This is Josh, he's my best friend. Don't let the tattoos and muscles fool you, he thinks they make him look tough.” She puts up a finger to her chin in thought. “You sure you've never seen him? With the amount of sweets Josh stuffs into his body every day, I'd think you'd both be best buds by now.”

 

“Nope,” Tyler says, emphasizing the ‘p’ at the end. “Nice to meet you, Josh.” He shyly extends his hand towards Josh, and it's amazing that Josh can even move after the wave of unnecessary emotions he'd just experienced. He gives a low “Yeah, same,” and pulls his burning hand back into his pants pocket.

 

During this small span of time, Josh's anxiety had diminished dramatically. The fact that Tyler hadn't mentioned anything really backed up his suspicions that the kid wasn't looking to cause any trouble for him.

 

Well, at least he's resolved this issue. It helped that Debby began doing her silly shenanigans again. She crosses her arms and a disappointed frown is directed at him.

 

“Josh, you're missing out on a _lot_. I can't believe you've never tried Ty’s chocolate cake. Why haven't you been here before? Don't tell me you've been busy, because we both know you don't do anything in school and we both know you don't have any friends,” she ends.

 

“Maybe ‘cause you're always forcing me to take you around town when your girlfriends bail out on you, which, by the way, happens way too often,” Josh retorts teasingly.

 

Debby gasps. “That's not true! Ty, don't believe him, he's just being a meanie,” she says, pointing an accusing finger at Josh.

 

Josh snorts. “Remember that one time Jessica invited you to that concert, but she canceled like, 30 minutes after you arrived? That was pretty sad, Debs.”

 

“Hey, hey, we agreed never to speak of that again and- Tyler, don't laugh!”

 

Tyler giggles behind the counter, watching the scene unfold.

 

After a bit more insults being thrown back and forth, they calm down, and Debby takes a look at the display case. She's inquiring about the prices (“Ty, can't you like, give me some employee discount?”), until she's interrupted by her phone buzzing. She tells Josh that she's going to go outside, leaving him and Tyler in the bakery with the tension practically suffocating Josh.

 

“So…,” Josh begins. Tyler returns his gaze to Josh. “You know, after Saturday, I'd thought I'd never see you again. I was… kinda hoping you'd drop by. But, you know, to actually buy something this time,” he ends with a chuckle. Suddenly, his a eyes express a glint of fear. “You're not here to like, steal, are you?”

 

“What! No. No, no, absolutely not. I swear it won't happen again. It was wrong on my behalf and you shouldn't have to have dealt with me and I'm so sorry and-” He was cut off by Tyler's giggling.

 

“You don't have to apologize, I told you that already. Just, chill out a bit. It's fine.” Tyler swirls around quickly, taking out a tin box from a shelf under the counter. “Um, actually… there were a lot of leftovers that I made, and I was planning on sharing with Debby and my friends, but, you could have some too.” He opens the box to reveal an assortment of warm butter cookies, all in different shapes and sizes.

 

At this point, Josh is freaking confused out of his mind. This kid is acting so kind to him, he’d almost suspect that Tyler's faking him out, if it weren't for the fact that Tyler was currently wearing the brightest smile he'd ever seen. It looked too legit to be fake.

 

“That's, wow. Thanks, uh, Tyler, right?” Tyler nods his head shyly. “I wish there were more people like you in the world. You're so… forgiving. All my friends are total jerks.” He grabs one cookie and pops it in his mouth.

 

And, he's probably exaggerating a bit here, but Josh thinks that he just ate the most delicious cookie in the world.

 

Considering he's been eating these since basically the beginning of time, he thinks he's pretty qualified to say that.

 

Like, holy shit, that's a good cookie.

 

The sound of bells as the door opens interrupts his train of thought, signaling Debby's return.

 

Tyler looks up. “Hey, Debby, welcome back! Want a cookie?”

 

Debby takes her hands off of her eyes and leaves them hanging on her sides. “Sorry, Tyler, we’re gonna have to go now. Josh and I need to do something… important. I'll come by later, okay?”

 

Josh sends a questioning glance to his friend, and she sends back a stare of urgency he's unfortunately seen before.

 

“Oh, sure, it's fine. See you later, then. You too, Josh!” He looks back from the doors and sees Tyler tilt his head and wave, his crooked teeth revealing themselves behind a shy smile.

 

“Yeah, sure. See you later, Tyler,” he smiles. Debby waves frantically and pulls Josh out of the bakery.

 

He takes a moment to look back on their encounter today with Tyler, and he realizes: out of all the outcomes that could have occurred today, this one was probably the best one. Thank goodness the kid’s such a nice person.

 

Josh makes a mental note of returning to the bakery to buy (yes, he'd learned his lesson for now) more of those heavenly cookies.

 

But first, he needs to take care of something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, what's gotten Debby so distressed, I wonder?


	4. Crushes, Caramel, Cupcakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler continues his work, moving quickly to mix the frosting together. He needs to put it in a piping bag to top the baked cupcakes he has cooling next to him, but he can't seem to find the bags anywhere. Confused, he walks towards the kitchen door, ready to yell at Jenna again, until he catches the conversation she's having with the customer.
> 
> Well, not just any customer.

There were certain things that would force Tyler to stay awake at the latest of nights.

 

For example, every time he and his father argued over petty issues at the dinner table, he would storm up to his room and lay on his back, watching the ceiling fan slowly whirl. Sometimes, nostalgic memories of his dead mother would keep him crying silently into his pillow until he dozed off.

 

The constant murmurs in his head chanting ‘you have no purpose’ or ‘you're going to hell, kid’ were culprits too. His loud thoughts overpowered his hope so much that he'd feel like he was drowning in despair, that nobody was be there to catch him fall. He would stare at the edge of the bed, wondering when his life turned into a cycle of pessimism. Tyler hated these dark thoughts of his. He wished they would vanish into the morning fog, and never return.

 

He just wanted to stop thinking. He just wanted to sleep.

 

Saturday night was no exception. However, that night was different.

 

That night, Tyler was a victim of his heart, rather than his mind. That night, those sleepless hours have turned _very_ pleasant, and it was all thanks to a particular yellow haired boy with a smile so big and so bright, it could rival the sun.

 

Josh, with his crinkly, blinding smile. His disheveled bed hair. His sweet, sugary personality. Actually, Tyler's heart almost exploded into a million love-struck pieces every time Josh opened his mouth to say something.

 

It wouldn't be a far cry to say that Tyler Joseph was completely, utterly infatuated with Josh.

 

Because that would be entirely true.

 

In fact, Tyler's crush was so big he didn't hold any resentment towards Josh when he worked his ass off staying up late at night re-baking the butter cookies the first Saturday. (Jenna, however, had a fit. “No, Jenna, I'm fine. Stop touching my face!”).

 

Saturday Two, as Tyler had named it, left him elated at the prospect of actually becoming friends with the guy.

 

And for the first time in a long time, Tyler was thankful. He was thankful that he'd met Debby, and that Debby met Josh, and that they knew each other, and that they came back to the bakery, and that they all got along well.

 

He'd been smiling more, too. Although Josh hadn't come by with Debby when she visited Monday, he was more than glad to have her around. She reminded him of Jenna a lot, and she was definitely a big step up from her boyfriend (Gabe was a huge jerk). Truthfully, he only started talking to her because of her connection with Josh, but after a few minutes of conversation that Monday, he realized it'd be nice to have her stick around. (Besides, she was probably his best customer, coming by almost every day to buy chocolate cake.)

 

Today, she came around the same time Jenna arrived.

 

“…Ya don't work here,” Jenna deadpans when she notices Debby standing behind the counter. Tyler stifles his laugh and waves.

 

“Remember my basketball buddy? The one that came here and left sweat all over the floor,” he adds quickly. Jenna grimaces and nods her head. “This is his girlfriend Debby.”

 

A bit more introduction later, they decide to let Debby into the kitchen, where Tyler and Jenna would meet up to gossip and hang out during their break.

 

He doesn't get to ask about Debby’s sudden leave on Saturday, but he figures it isn't his place to ask. However, he does inquire on Josh’s whereabouts, to which she replies, “Josh is eating.”

 

Tyler tries to mask his frown, knowing that he won't be blessed with the sight of the ray of sunshine today.

 

“Hey, Debby, you wouldn't mind bringing Josh next time you come here, would you?”

 

Oh. Whoops... That sounded very suspicious.

 

She looks confused for a moment. “Actually, Josh has been wanting to come with me for a while, but he's been busy. I think he'll be free tomorrow though. Why?”

 

Tomorrow?

 

Tyler shrugs, oblivious to the smile he's wearing. After hearing that he'll get to see the pretty boy again, it's kind of hard not to smile. “I was… just wondering,” he answers meekly. The girls turn to look at each other before Jenna speaks up.

 

“Who's this Josh I keep hearing ‘bout?” she asks Tyler. Unfortunately, Tyler's too giddy to give her a coherent answer, so he simply lowers his head, successfully hiding his blushing. While Debby responds to the question, Jenna stays attentive for his body language. It's always been difficult to hide his emotions from Jenna, since, most of the time, his hand movements or head twitches perfectly paint a picture of what he was thinking. But it's not like he was planning on hiding his little crush from her, not at all.

 

It's just, he really doesn't feel comfortable having Debby around while he gushes about her best friend.

 

Someone's phone rings. “Oh shit, it's so late! I'm sorry, I have to get going,” Debby says, hastily grabbing her purse and awkwardly throwing it over her shoulder. “How about I come by tomorrow for that chocolate cake, Jenna? And, I mean, I'll bring Josh tomorrow, I guess…” She says her final goodbyes to the duo before exiting the building.

 

As soon as the door closes, Jenna lets out a squeak. A _really_ high pitched squeak.

 

Tyler jumps at the sound, rubbing his ears exaggeratedly. “Uh, _ow_. What was that all about?” he questions. She shakes her head knowingly, the sly smile indicating her mischievous intentions. Intentions which, usually, resulted in humiliation for Tyler, having known Jenna’s personality since the beginning of high school. He hands her an apron and mumbles about her strange behavior, making sure she doesn't hear his remarks.

 

“So,” she sighs heavily, crossing her arms and stationing herself in front of the kitchen door to prevent Tyler from avoiding her interrogation. “Josh, ey?”

 

“Um, w-what?” Tyler can't believe he's still trying to deny anything, given the silent conversation they'd been having when the topic of Josh came into the conversation. He shifts from one leg to the other, patiently waiting for Jenna to get to the point. “What about him?”

 

“I dunno, ya started actin’… bit fidgety when Debby talked about him.” Tyler's sighs and shrugs, still not tempted by Jenna’s bait.

 

“So?”

 

“So… is he cute?”

 

_Yeah_.

 

_Gorgeous_ , Tyler's about to blurt out, but miraculously, he's able to hold in the comment. Instead, he opts for a shy nod of his head and allows Jenna to hug him tightly. “I'm so excited to meet him! Don't ya worry, I'll be there in case ya do somethin’ stupid.”

 

“Look, Jen, I don't think I'm the one who should worry about doing something stup-” he's cut mid-sentence by a sharp jab to his chest.

 

They go back to work (despite Jenna's million questions), but truthfully, all Tyler can think about is how nice tomorrow will be, and how much fun he'll have just staring at Josh.

 

Like, that's all he's planning to do, really. 

 

 

 

“Hey Jenna! We ran out of caramel!” Tyler yells from the kitchen. His hands are steadily working on pouring the remains of the thick, sticky caramel into the frosting.

 

Jenna sighs dramatically from her position at the shelves, where she is currently placing the sweet bread in order from most likely to cause you diabetes. “Well, I ain't gonna go out and get it. I don't wanna miss seeing-”

 

Her sentence is interrupted, most likely by a customer entering the glass-paned doors of the bakery. Tyler continues his work, moving quickly to mix the frosting together. He needs to put it in a piping bag to top the baked cupcakes he has cooling next to him, but he can't seem to find the bags anywhere. Confused, he walks towards the kitchen door, ready to yell at Jenna again, until he catches the conversation she's having with the customer.

 

Well, not just _any_ customer.

 

“Yeah, no, Debby couldn't come today. But, I'm here, so…”

 

_Ooh_.

 

Tyler feels like helium, quickly flavoring off into space. He's tingly and giddy inside, so distracted by the heavenly voice from the other side of the door that he doesn't realize Jenna call out to him until she kicks the kitchen door with her boot.

 

“I'm coming, I'm coming!” He rinses the gooey caramel off his fingers and looks at his reflection through the mirror. Fixing a few stray hairs, he takes a deep breath and walks calmly out of the kitchen. Kind of a bad decision, he realizes too late, because his breath is stolen the second he lays his eyes on Josh.

 

And it's not just Josh's general appearance that leaves him in awe, but the tight button up shirt he's wearing, showing off his muscles just right. His bright yellow hair, contradicting the darkness of the sky tonight, was sticking to his forehead as if he'd been doing some physical activity. But wow. A sticky, sweet Josh.

 

_Just like caramel_.

 

“Hey Josh! Good to see you,” Tyler says casually. He'd always been good at pulling a straight face, and this time he's actually glad to have this gift. Because, frankly, his chest is doing some sort of extreme yoga right now, stretching out in crazy directions.

 

“Ya know what, Ty?” Jenna pipes in, that trademark mischievous smile peeking out through the cracks of her face. “I just remembered you wanted me to go out for some caramel. I'll just be gone for a few, alright? Alright!”

 

And just like that, she's gone.

 

Tyler's surprised he even trusted her to be there for moral support. During all his other crushes in high school, she'd put them in uncomfortable situations and bail out. It seems she's still trying out that method, despite its obvious failure. How rude.

 

“You're captain of the basketball team, aren't you?” Oh, yeah. Josh. Wait. Basketball team? Does that – does that mean Josh goes to the same high school as Tyler?

 

“I am. Just came out of practice today, actually.” Josh pulls out his hands from his pants pockets, arms in full display. He's already forgotten the previous thought, now paying close attention to the pretty alignment of tattoos on Josh’s arms, wondering whether he'd ever get a tattoo himself. He's so lost into this sweet dream world of his that he doesn't really take note of the pregnant silence.

 

“Cool,” is all Josh says back. He's starting to pace around the room now, viewing the numerous shelves of sweets and pastries. He stops at the cupcakes, particularly, the ones Tyler had been trying to make a few minutes ago.

 

“So you, like, make these? Yourself?” Josh is pointing at the caramel cupcakes, so Tyler figures he can disregard the credit given to Jenna for making the other pastries. Since she left him all by himself with Josh. Damn it, Jenna.

 

“Uh huh. It's a homemade recipe,” Tyler begins, but he falters a little when a realization sort of just hits him in the skull. “No one’s… actually bought them yet. They're not the most appealing food here.”

 

“I'll take a few, if you wouldn't mind.” Uh. What.

 

“Really?” He hopes he doesn't come off as rude, but it is sort of worrying to know that the guy who stole cookies said he's about to take the cupcakes. However, it seems that Josh didn't take any offense to the comment.

 

“It's my momma’s birthday tomorrow, but she doesn't really enjoy cakes, so I thought about buying her some cupcakes instead. How many can I get?” Josh pulls out his wallet, a nice leather brown with a small blue ribbon attached to it, and he takes out a ten dollar bill.

 

Tyler pretends the mention of Josh’s mother doesn't put him in an uneasy mood, but he does takes a second to clear his voice. “They uh, come in a dozen. Do you want me to decorate them for your mother?”

 

“Hmm. No, I – I don’t want to cause you any trouble. You looked like you were busy before I came in. Sorry.” Josh bows his head in apology, and Tyler can't help but smile delightfully at that.

 

“Dude, it's totally fine. You should come by with Debby more often, though. I'd bet it be more fun with you around.” He grabs a plastic cupcake box and walks over to Josh. His heart is bumping out of his chest, the idea of being in a close proximity to the guy making his face burn and his hands sweaty. Opening the small door of the shelf (and careful not to make physical contact with Josh), he slides out the tray of cupcakes and sets it on the counter.

 

Josh takes a long, deep breath, and the noise that escapes his lips makes Tyler's heart stop almost entirely. “I'd loves to come by again. These smell amazing, by the way,” Josh says.

 

And, oh, there it is.

 

There's that smile that turns Tyler into a gooey puddle and makes him feel like he died and went to heaven.

 

He smiles back at Josh, bashful because of the compliment he'd just received, and ends up staring at him for a bit too long. And, really, it wouldn't have been a problem at all.

 

Staring at Josh was probably one of the greatest things to do in life. He'd do it for hours.

 

If it wasn't for the fact that Jenna decides to come barging into the bakery, empty handed, but obviously walking like she just caught some kids making out.

 

Seriously, why does Tyler even trust her with his love life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me, or are chapters kind of getting longer? Oh well.
> 
> Although the tags describe Tyler's problems, the first of Josh's chapters will likely be more serious. The story's just evolving as I write, honestly.


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